Fish oil effects on quality of life, body weight and free fat mass change in gastrointestinal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: A triple blind, randomized clinical trial

The effects of fish oil supplementation for nine weeks on quality of life, body weight and muscle mass change in gastrointestinal cancer patients during chemotherapy was investigated. Forty-five patients with colorectal or gastric cancer initiating chemotherapy treatment were studied in a triple-blind, placebo controlled trial. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 3.6 g/day of fish oil (1.55 g EPA + DHA; n = 22) or placebo (n = 23). Body weight, body composition and quality of life were assessed at baseline and at week 9. Pooled analysis did not show statistical significance between the two groups for weight and free-fat mass change. However, subgroup analyses demonstrated that fish oil prevented loss of muscle mass. Patients that took fish oil had lower scores for nausea/vomiting and appetite loss after the first nine weeks of chemotherapy, but had higher constipation scores. Thus, the results indicate that certain groups of patients with gastrointestinal cancer may benefit from fish oil intake concomitant with chemotherapy.